The One You Love
by Moonglitter2
Summary: Sometimes it is the simple things that make you realize you love someone.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 A Starry Night

All seemed perfect on that clear, starry night to those who liked to stargaze during a warm summer. Winry and Pinako Rockbell were sitting out on the front porch watching as Den chased and tried to catch the fireflies. Pinako looked over to Winry and was going to comment about Den getting too far out. However, she saw that Winry was fighting to keep her eyes open. It was then that she realized how late it was getting. She called out for Den to come back then gently shook Winry's shoulder. Winry blinked her eyes and turned her head back and forth as if looking for someone. Pinako took notice of her granddaughter's searching gaze and voiced her guess to whom she was looking for so persistently.

"Winry, you have to stop this. He'll come back when he wants to or needs his arm fixed again. You've been staying up until a few hours after midnight just to turn around and get back up at dawn. This isn't healthy for you."

"I know. It's just that I want to be awake when he comes back," Winry barely got out through a yawn.

"Well, you won't be lasting much longer if you keep doing this to yourself everyday. Now, go take Den inside and you get yourself to bed. I'll be sure to wake you if they come by while you are asleep."

Letting another yawn escape her lips, Winry obeyed and let Den inside. She slowly made her way to her room upstairs and changed into comfortable night clothes. At last she was able to fall back on her bed. She fell asleep before her head even hit the pillow. Den came into her room and went to sleep at the foot of the bed, his automail leg gently resting against Winry's bare foot. Winry dreamed about Ed while she was sleeping, but in the morning she wouldn't remember what she was dreaming about.

--

The next day, Winry slowly opened her eyes only to have the bright sunlight shine through the window at them. She quickly closed them and yawned. Grandma Pinako opened her bedroom door and saw Winry was up.

"See how wonderful getting sleep is? You've been asleep through most of the morning," she said while fully pulling the curtains open. Winry sat up and stretched. "You know, you should hurry up and get dressed so you can get back to work. We have a customer coming later to get an automail arm."

Now fully awake, Winry asked a question while quickly getting dressed. "What happened to him?"

"He was on a mission and got his arm blown off. I was told he is a state alchemist. I told myself I wouldn't allow any dogs of the military step foot in my home let alone if they need automail. Ed's the exception tough. We are in real need for the money right now, so a customer is a customer," Pinako said as she stepped to leave the bedroom.

Winry took the news as an opportunity to ask the man if he heard about where Ed and Al were. It turned out the mad had Heard of the Elric brothers, but said the last time they were seen was when Mustang gave them a mission to the West.

As Winry went to bed that night, she wished that wherever Ed and Al were they would be safe and see her soon. What she didn't know was that not ten minutes after she wished this, it started raining and Al came into view of the Rockbell home carrying a torn up and half dead Edward Elric.


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh, I forgot to mention in the first chapter…I don't own FMA. I just own the way I manipulated the storyline. Also, thanks to a reviewer, I realized I accidently said this was chapter 3 when it's supposed to be 2.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

Chapter 2 Getting Help

What was once a pleasantly warm summer night became no more. It seemed as if the weather could sense the essence of something tragic. The wind picked up and became icy cold while sheets of freezing rain poured down on the only two individuals left outside at this time of night. The rain hammering on a suit of armor was all that could be heard besides the background sound of rain splashing all around. If anyone were to be out for whatever reason at this time of night they would find it a strange sight to see a towering suit of armor outside walking in the rain holding what looked like a bundle of mushy red blankets.

The tragic thing was that the bundle was not what it seemed because it was in fact Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, with both of his automail limbs along with their ports torn completely away from where they would normally be. Ed was losing a lot of blood from these two places alone. Unfortunately for him, he also had most of his body torso covered in deep gashes made by a deadly sharp knife from the looks of the cuts. He had several broken ribs and his left arm was popped from its socket. His right leg was bent and broken in such a way that even the strongest willed of men would not be able to endure the agonizing pain that came with the unnatural position. Let's just say that he would be grateful that he was unconscious at that moment. He needed help fast or he was going to die and Al wasn't about to let that happen.

Al had it better off than Ed did. The damage done to his armor could be fixed right away. It was dented and torn apart in a few places, but thankfully his blood seal was not harmed. Without his seal, Al would no longer be bound to his suit of armor his brother sacrificed his right arm for and Ed would be all alone in this world. They had worked far too hard these last few years and found every fresh trail for the philosopher's stone just to fail. This was not an option and they had to look out for each other in order to successfully accomplish their goal of getting their bodies back to normal.

Al could see the Rockbell home from where he currently stood. The rain was falling pretty thickly so the vision range wasn't that good. He ran while still holding Ed closer to the house to make sure he saw it and he was happy it was indeed Winry's house. Now Ed would be able to get out of this rain and get the help he needs. _'Hang in their Brother.'_

_--_

For some reason, Winry was having trouble getting comfortable enough to sleep. Ed's face kept flashing before her closed eyes and she would wake up. Why was she unable to stop thinking about him? She heard a sudden banging on the front door. She thought she was just hearing things at first since she was deprived of sleep, but then it came again a bit more urgently.

She quickly put her night robe over herself as she carefully walked out of her room and saw Grandma Pinako wearing her own robe and walking toward the door. There was something about the way she hurried as fast as she could to get to the door to let in whoever was outside. Does she know who is at the door? Had she seen them coming when she looked through her bedroom window before Winry came out to see who would need to come at this time of night? Why was she rushing to open the door? Was there something that needed urgent attention? One look in Winry's direction told her she knew who was at the door.

Pinako opened the door and Al, who rushed in without being properly invited, placed Ed on the floor because the couch was on the other side of the room. Winry looked at the bloody pile of mushy 

blankets and stared. Wait. She took a closer look. Winry froze. She was fighting to keep from crying at what she saw before her. Ed was all bloody and half dead from the looks of it lying before her and she felt anguish at seeing him like this.

"Winry, don't just stand there. Get Ed out of those wet clothes. Al, go get bandages and wet towels. We need to help him fast before he bleeds to death," Pinako said in as calm voice as she could. Someone needed to be calm while thinking straight and she was the only one in the room who could keep her emotions in line. Ed wasn't going to last much longer if they couldn't stop the bleeding. Even if they took care of this problem, there was still a chance he would make it to see the next day. _'Hang on Ed. You're in good hands now.'_


	3. Chapter 3

**I would like to thank you all for showing support for at least reading this story. It would be much appreciated if I saw some more reviews hit my inbox. Perhaps it would inspire quicker updating.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA.**

Chapter 3 Discoveries

Winry set to work on removing Ed's clothes that were soaked with water and blood. She removed his heavy looking single black boot first. Al had carried Ed's other boot when he came in. She then moved to his upper body and removed as carefully as she could his red coat without hurting his arm stump more. She didn't know that his left arm was popped from its socket, but when she slid the arm of the coat away from there she saw the damage that was done. Thinking she really should leave it the way it is but it needed to be popped back, she popped the arm back in its socket with a sickening crack. Ed didn't even flinch, which was good because that meant he wasn't in pain from it but bad because he was still lifeless.

At this point Al came back in with the towels and handed them to Aunt Pinako, who accepted them and set the work cleaning off the parts of Ed that Winry had uncovered so far. Winry took some scissors she spotted on a near by tame and set to work cutting open Ed's black tank top since they would hurt him worse if they tried moving him in order to take it off. _'After all,'_ she thought as she threw the ruined thank top away from Ed, _'he has plenty more where that came from.'_

"Oh my…" Grandma Pinako gasped. Winry looked up at her and then to what she was looking at. There right on Ed's stomach was a huge gash that was bleeding freely. Pinako quickly applied pressure on it with a fresh towel and told Al to hold it in place. Al didn't hesitate to do what he was asked to do.

Winry went back to her task. She realized with a shock that she still had one more item of clothing to take off Ed and she blushed a brilliant shade of red. She still had the embarrassing task of taking off Ed's tight, black leather pants. She took a deep breath to calm herself and leaned in close to Ed's body to undo his belt. She then grasped the button on the pants, undid it, and pulled down the zipper. Taking off the pants was going to be hard because of the fact that Ed's right leg was bent as a sickening angle. Pinako saw this and told Winry to move out of the way. She took hold of his leg and pulled it back to how it was supposed to be. Ed gave his first sign of life since being brought to the house by gasping and wincing from the pain. He went back to unconsciousness.soon after and was having trouble breathing a little due to his broken ribs. Pinako went to finish cleaning him up and putting bandages over the wounds. Winry took off the pants as quickly as she could without causing him more pain. Pinako told her it wouldn't be necessary to take his boxers off and Winry was very grateful for that.

About an hour later they were done doing everything they could do for him and they carefully moved him over to the couch. Al set a chair next to the couch so he could watch over Ed as he slept. All Winry and Pinako could do was wait until morning to see if he wakes up. Winry's last thought before going to sleep was _'Oh please let Ed wake up. I don't know what I would do without him.'_

_--_

The next morning, Winry was up early so that she could see how Ed was doing. She threw on what clothes she grabbed first without seeing what they were because her mind was on only one thing at the moment.

When she made it down stairs and into the living room where Ed was lying on the couch, she saw that Al was still sitting in the chair next to Ed like he was last night. Al shifted a little to signal to Winry that he realized she was standing there in the entrance to the living room. Winry walked quickly over to Al's side.

"Has he shown any signs of waking up?" she asked Al in a whisper. Al answered with a soft "No."

"Well, why don't you go outside for a bit and I'll take over watching him." Al made no protest, but was a little hesitant before he made his way out of the room and to the front door. Winry took Al's place in the chair and turned to look at Ed. He looked as peaceful as one could be after experiencing something as horrible as he did yesterday. His breathing was steady and Winry sighed with relief.

A few minutes passed as Ed was being watched by Winry. To her surprise, Ed opened his eyes and just stared at her. She gasped. "Ed! Oh my god. I am so glad you are awake. I was so worried you might be…" she couldn't finish. Ed winced as he tried to sit up, but he collapsed back down onto the couch. "No, Ed. Don't get up. You've been through too much. You need to heal more and get your strength back before you try that again," she said with a worried tone of voice.

"Winry, where is Al?" Ed could barely get his words out because his mouth was dry.

"Oh. He went outside for a bit," she answered still awed that he was awake.

Ed relaxed visible and closed his eyes. Winry thought he was still tired from last night. As he slept, she thought about how grateful she was that Ed was alive and that he had returned to her. She didn't know what she would have done if he had died during the night. It was an unthinkable thought and she never wanted to think like that again. She had almost lost him and she wouldn't have been able to bear him not being able to know that she loved him.

Al came back in and saw that Winry was in deep thought while she had tears running down her face. He stepped toward her and she glanced toward the noise of the armor. She smiled at him and got up to give him a warm hug. Al was surprised by this, but put his arms around her anyway.

"Oh, Al. He woke up for a few moments but went back to sleep. He's going to be alright." Al was so happy that Ed was okay. Together they watched as Ed looked more peaceful than before. Aunt Pinako came in from the hall and smiled warmly at the sight before her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Just so you guys know, I only have enough material for two more postings after this one. I haven't had the mental energy to keep writing the story. It's tough work! Inspiration would be good, too…**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own FMA.**

Chapter 4 Confessions

A few days later, Ed was ready to sit up and start moving around on the couch again. Winry put one arm under and around his waist to help lift him. Ed winced slightly. No one was surprised that his ribs, right leg, and left arm had healed so quickly after that night because they knew he was a fast healer. The gashes across his torso were gone, but the healing left scars in their places. Ed still felt some of the pain from his stumps, but was determined to get his automail limbs back as soon as he could. He voiced what he wanted to Winry and she hesitated before she agreed.

"But Ed, you have just gotten your strength back and healed enough to move. Why do you want the automail so soon?" Winry asked out of concern for the older Elric.

"Winry, you shouldn't even feel the need to ask that. I need to get back on my feet as soon as I can so that I am able to get back out there and kill that bastard (pardon my use for this word, but Ed says it all the time and I want to keep him in character) Scar for doing this to me. Plus I still need to find a way to make the philosopher's stone. I can't do that without my automail limbs. I can't let Al stay in that suit of armor for the rest of his life. I also need to get back to Central to warn the military what Scar is capable of, even without that cursed arm. There are many reasons I need my limbs, Winry." Ed leaned back into the couch. _'I also love you and want to protect you from harm.'_

"Ed, you have so much you think you need to do. Let the military handle that Scar character. You don't need to go back right away. Just write a letter when you are feeling better after the reattachments for the automail," Winry reasoned. She really didn't want him to leave her. She never knew if he would be back whenever he had to leave. It brought her to tears each time he went back to the dangerous world of the military and she was scared he would never come back.

"You're right, Winry," Ed said, finally giving in to her reasoning. He thought he could spare a few days here after he recovered from the automail. It always seemed hike Winry knew what was best for him. She admired that about her and the way she puts extra love into his automail. He didn't know what he would do without her if she was gone. This thought was quickly driven out of his mind. He didn't want to think negative about the future. He wanted to protect her from harm. To do so, he would have to hold off telling her he had feelings for her. She might become a target because everyone that Ed had come close to had become targets for his enemies. He didn't want her to be hurt just because of being with him.

Ed suddenly felt a little light headed. He told Winry that he was going to rest a little bit more. She nodded and pulled the nearby blanket over him; he immediately fell asleep. It's no wonder he was so tired all the time because he had caught a small cold from being outside in that rain a few days ago; he was almost done recovering from it.

Winry decided to help her grandma in the automail shop with Ed's new ports. Pinako had told her that when Ed has them put in, he will be in a lot more pain that the first time around. His nerves will barely be able to take the automail surgery again.

A few hours later, Ed opened his eyes to see Winry staring back at him. She quickly looked away as he noticed a blush forming on her face. He smiled as he placed his hand on her face so that he could make her look at him. "I didn't know I was so good looking that you couldn't resist staring at me like that. How long have you been watching me sleep?" he teased her.

Winry's blush just burned brighter. He caught her staring at him while he slept and now she had to make up an excuse for it. "Well, I-uh-just wanted to take your measurements for the new limbs and decided to wait until you woke up," she said in a rush.

Ed looked at Winry as if he was disappointed at her answer, as if he wanted her to say something else, but that look left as soon as he struggled to get up. Winry placed her hands on his waist to help hold him up while he scooted his body as he sat so she would be able to take the measurements. He blushed as she removed her hands. _'I wish she would leave them.'_ Winry left him to go get her note pad and her measuring tool. She came back and started measuring his remaining limbs.

As she did the leg, she found he had grown a full seven inches. She voiced her astonishment to Ed and he was surprised as well. He told her that he had to limp around when he had the old automail leg, but he didn't realize he had grown **that** much. He was now taller than Winry and no one would be able to make fun of him anymore for his height now.

Once she was done, she left to start working on the automail. She had gotten pretty good at making them wile her grandma made the ports.

Al took Winry's place next to his brother and gave Ed a plate of food. Ed accepted it and thanked Al before he dug in. He hadn't eaten since he came here so he had built up quite an appetite. As he ate, his thoughts were on Winry. _'Why was she staring at me? Does she love me as I do her?'_ He thought he had seen a loving look in her eyes before she realized she was caught with a surprised look in those glittering blue orbs. He thought she had matured over the time he spent away from her, too. She no longer seemed like she wanted to hit his head with that wrench he had learned to fear anymore. _'Which is a very good thing because my head has plenty of bumps on it from that thing as it is.'_ He had loved her for awhile now, but he was afraid that if he confessed his love to her she would hate him. He was now sure she wouldn't react that way because of what he saw in her eyes whenever she looked at him.

Ed didn't notice until now that Al was trying to get his attention. He quickly brought his gaze to him, but Al was laughing. "What's so funny?" Ed asked with an annoyed expression.

"Well, you seem like you are in deep thought about something because you are just holding your plate out to Den. It looks like he took off with the rest of your food," Al told him while eyeing the angered face of his brother that he was displaying. A few moments after his sudden tenseness, he just shrugged it off and said he was done anyway. "What are you thinking about, Brother?"

Ed contemplated whether or not he could trust Al enough to tell him what was on his mind. He decided he could. "Al, do you promise to not tell Winry about what I am about to tell you?" Ed asked. Al nodded. "You see, I was thinking about Winry."

Al didn't act surprised. When Ed gave him a questioning glance, he said, "I've known for along time that you like Winry. You always look off into space whenever I mention her. I'm happy now that I know you have finally realized you like her."

"I don't just like her, Al. I love her with all my heart and I want to be able to protect her from harm." Ed confessed.

"I realize that, Brother, and I think Winry feels the same way about you, too," All said while Ed gave him a bright smile.

"You really think so? Why are you so sure?" Ed asked out of curiosity.

"Well, a few days ago when you were still unconscious, she told me to go for a walk for awhile. I instead decided to stay just outside the living room out of her sight to watch her as she watched you. Then you woke up and asked where I was. She said that I was outside. You went back to sleep and she watched you with a loving look in her eyes. When I went back into the living room, she had tears in her eyes and I knew they were for you," Al finished as Ed gave a small smile.

"Maybe I should tell her how I feel," Ed said more to himself than to Al. Al nodded in encouragement. Neither of them realized that Pinako was secretly listening to their conversation, the ports she had been working on already done. She smiled as she went to see how Winry was doing with the automail for Ed. _'It's about time you realized your feelings, Ed. I was giving up hope on you.'_


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys. Sorry for the long wait in updating. College is giving me week-long headaches and a few meltdowns, so you will forgive me for not updating soon enough. After this is the last chapter, at least for now. Next chapter is extra long!**

Chapter 5 Pain

Three days after Ed woke up, Winry told everyone that she had finally finished the automail limbs with the help of Pinako. She had pulled a couple of all-nighters, but she thought they were worth it. Ed wanted to get back on his feet as soon as possible and she wanted to do that for him. Everyone saw, including Ed, that she looked dead tired from the sleepless nights. She thought she saw a little concern in Ed's eyes, but she dismissed it as her seeing things due to her brain's lack of sleep.

"Well, Ed, we can get your ports attached right now if you want. It's up to you," Winry managed to say before a yawn escaped her lips.

Ed immediately turned it down. "Winry, I can wait. You go get some sleep, seeing as it is still early, and we can do it when you feel awake enough."

Winry looked as if she would fall asleep right where she stood. "Are you sure?" she asked, her eyes drooping with exhaustion.

"I'm totally sure. You look completely exhausted. You really shouldn't have done those all-nighters. It's not healthy," Ed said with deep care for her. "Hey, Al. Why don't you carry her to her room? She looks like she's about to pass out."

Al took Winry in his big metal arms, for she was indeed about to collapse, and took her up stairs to her bedroom. Ed told Pinako that she should rest, too. She accepted the suggestion and went to her own room. For the rest of the day, Ed just wanted some alone time with Al to talk about thinks and maybe get some shut eye for himself.

Later in the evening, Winry came out to the living room where everyone else was looking refreshed and ready to go. "Are you sure you want to do this, Ed? Do you realize the second time around will be more unbearable that the last time?" Winry asked to make sure he really was ready to go through with it, because now was the time to back out.

"Yes, Winry. I have to in order to make things right again. I understand the risks, but there will be no changing my mind. Let's just get this over with," Ed said with such calm in his voice that one would think he was simply doing a normal everyday task.

Al carefully lifted Ed into his metal arms and followed the two automail engineers into the surgery room. He placed Ed on the chair that Winry pointed to. She started unwrapping Ed's arm and leg stumps. He didn't wince at any point during the process, but his thoughts were going back and forth between what Winry was doing and the amount of pain he'll be in once the surgery is in process.

Truthfully, Ed was scared to go through the port surgery again. He remembered the first time he had them installed and the agonizing pain from the nerves being connected to each connector on the port. He remembered having to bite his tongue making it bleed and clench his teeth to keep from screaming out. The pain would be far greater this time and he would most definitely cry out.

Winry undid the last of Ed's bandages. She was used to him healing fast and was not surprised that the ribs were fully healed and normal. They would have to be in order to do the procedure, because the ribs would have caused problems like puncturing his lungs if they were still damaged. She really didn't want Ed to have to go through this pain again. She almost couldn't bear the last time he went through it even though she herself was in no pain. She could only imagine how bad it is when she herself couldn't stand it while Ed was suffering from it. Now he had to go through with the same procedure and she didn't know if she herself could go through with it. Ed wanted this and she had to be there for him, even if he was in extreme pain. She would do anything for him; if she could, she would take all the pain for him. This is how much she loved him. She can't stand him being in pain. It breaks her heart that she can't do anything about it.

Pinako set up all the equipment and set the ports near the places they would go on Ed. "Now ed, I'm afraid that I will have to strap you down this time around. We can't have you moving too much, that is lashing out at things because of the pain," Pinako told him with a serious tone.

Ed hesitated a little before giving in. Winry strapped him down so that he was sort of laying down, tightening the straps just enough to allow little movement. He tested them out by wiggling against the straps at two places on his arm, the one at his waist, and the three on his leg. Winry was satisfied and sat down in the chair to the right of him near his arm stump while Pinako took her place at the leg stump.

"Al, make sure his straps don't come undone. If they do, then you will have to hold him down. Ed, you need to relax. If all goes we will be done attaching the nerves and hooking up the ports in under an hour. Is everyone ready?" Pinako said as everyone responded with focused expressions and nods. She nodded to Winry, who also nodded and they set to work.

Ed was suddenly hit with huge doses of pain from both stumps that he hardly had time to prepare for it. He did his best to hold off the scream that was forcing its way to the surface, but he was unsuccessful. All of his memories of the pain from his last surgery hit him with full force and combined with the agonizing pain he was felling, which made his situation a whole lot worse. All of his thoughts were wiped from his mind as nothing but pain swam through his whole being. He couldn't see anything anymore as the agony blinded him. He was no longer feeling his body; it seemed as if his body was made of nothing but the pain.

Al was getting scared. He could see and hear Ed screaming his out as he struggled and fought against the straps that held him. His whole body was giving off overly exaggerated twitches of muscle spasms that could be compared to a powerful seizure. Ed had managed to break his arm free, but Al immediately prevented it from going anywhere by holding it down with all of his strength using only one arm. He went to move Ed's sweaty bangs out of his eyes with his other arm, but those very eyes were rolling into the back of his head. All Al could see was the whites of eyes. _'Come on, Ed. Please hang on. You have to make it through this. You are too strong to let this pain get in the way of you surviving this,'_ Al thought as he silently prayed that their mother would help Ed through this.

Ed's screams continued to drown out all other sounds in the room for another half hour. He eventually couldn't scream any more because he exhausted his vocal cords and they gave out. He probably wouldn't be able to speak for days. For the rest of the surgery, he just whimpered while struggling against the binds. His whole body was starting to give out from all the pain. He was exhausted and his strength was leaving him.

When Winry and Pinako finally finished with the ports, they decided to give Ed a chance to recover a little bit. He had passed out from the pain a few minutes before they were done. Winry removed the straps and saw the leather had left imprints where his skin had rubbed against them. He looked ghostly pale as Al moved to pick him back up to place him on the living room couch. He was still twitching in various places of his body while he was still unconscious.

All three of them watched as Ed's chest moved in a steady rhythm with each intake of calmed breath as he slept. They could tell his muscles were still tensed from the earlier pain and predicted he would still hurt when he woke up. Winry spoke to no one in the room, but was meant to be heard by each of them. "The procedure was a success. We will have to wait until he wakes up to see if any damage was done. I hope his nerves adjust to the ports again, because if they don't then he will be paralyzed." Winry and the others all hoped for the best as they each, one by one, headed off for bed.

A few days after the port surgery, Ed slowly opened his eyes to find that the room was slightly bright. He gently lifted his head to look at his surroundings until his eyes fell on a form next to the couch he was on. When his eyes go t used to the lighting of the room, he saw that Winry was fast asleep on the floor. Looking down on her as she slept, Ed felt a little soreness in the way his muscles seemed to protest to his movement. Wincing a little, he gently reached down with his left hand and shook her shoulder.

Winry's eyes shot open at the contact as she quickly took in where she was sleeping. She saw that Ed was awake and sighed as she moved to stretch out. "I must have fallen asleep out here while I waited for you to wake up. Now my back hurts." She said while stretching the muscles in her back gingerly. Ed was watching her as she did this with a concerned expression. She saw this and asked, "So, how do you feel?"

It was a moment before he answered. "I guess I feel alright. My muscles sort of hurt, but it's an improvement from before when I was going through the surgery. How long was I out?"

Winry gently helped lift Ed into a sitting position. He winced and made small grunting noises as he sat up fully. "It has been a few days. We were worries you wouldn't wake up as quickly as you did." She sat down beside his as he leaned back into the couch. "I have to check to see how tender you are in to port are. It's Grandma's orders. Tell me when it hurts."

Ed didn't have any problem with it as Winry gently pressed her fingers around the area where metal met flesh on his leg stump. He blushed when she prodded his inner thigh and squirmed slightly. She noticed what was causing him to react that way and found she too was blushing with a little pink in her face. She moved on to his arm stump after she got up and shifted to the other side of Ed. The front of the stump was fine when she did her prodding, but his shoulder blade was a different story.

Winry gently pushed on his sensitive shoulder blade and Ed gave a small yelp. She sighed as she gently rubbed the spot as gently as she could. Ed seemed to relax into her hand as she finished her inspection. She concluded that he would be ready for the limbs by the evening.

"Ok, I'm all done. You'll be ready for your limbs later today," Winry said. She was about to stand up to let Ed have the couch to himself when he suddenly took hold of her right wrist. She turned her gaze to her wrist then up to his face with a questioning look.

Ed surprised himself when he prevented her from leaving. He didn't know why he reacted like that, but when he looked into her eyes, he knew it felt right. He knew the real reason why she was sleeping on the floor. It was because she cared about him enough to do that every night he had been asleep and he saw that look in her eyes. He looked closer and saw nothing but love for him in those brilliant blue orbs. He thought back to what Al had said when they were talking; Al had told him he thought Winry felt the same love for him as he did her. His next move surprised him even more, but it felt like the right moment to him to express his love for her.

Winry looked into Ed's eyes and saw an emotion she had never seen there before. She saw love in his intense golden eyes. She realized his face was moving closer to hers. She found herself moving closer as well. She tilted her head. Their lips were an inch apart when Ed lifted his left hand and placed it on her cheek. He then moved forward the rest of the way and gently pressed his lips on hers.


	6. Chapter 6

**Last chapter. Thank you all for reading. I may or may not revise this later/add more chapters.**

Chapter 6 Feelings

Winry could no longer think as she felt Ed's soft lips on her plump ones. It was like a silent explosion of fireworks went off inside her as she moved closer, wrapping her arms carefully around his neck without breaking away. She had wanted this for a long time.

Ed felt Winry respond to him by trying to deepen the kiss. He licked her bottom lip lightly, asking for entrance. She gasped and her lips parted enough to allow him to slip in. He tasted every inch of her mouth as he placed his left hand against the small of her back to bring her even closer. He could now feel her body heat through her clothes against his bare chest. He was still only wearing his boxers, which he was very thankful for at this point. Leather would be too uncomfortable.

The two were oblivious to the sudden appearance of Al, his armor making some noise as he tried to quietly walk into the room. His intention was to check on how Ed was doing, but what he saw caused him to stop his approach. If Al could have, he would have smiled at the site before him. He was happy to see that Ed decided to take his own advice and go for what he wanted. Trying to leave the room without interrupting the couple, Al moved as fast as he could making as little noise as possible. His attempt was a good try without much luck.

Ed and Winry heard clanging of metal that they knew only came from moving armor. They abruptly broke apart and turned their heads toward the general direction the sound came from. When they saw Al standing there like a deer caught in headlights, their faces flushed bright red.

Al decided to break the embarrassing silence. "Uh…hi, Brother. I'm glad that you're awake. It looks like the surgery was a success then?

Ed's thoughts were still with what he and Winry were just doing a few moments ago, but he was brought out of his own little world by Al's voice. "What? Oh, yeah. I guess I'm ok, Al. I feel a little sore still, but that's expected and it will go away soon. I think I'll be ready for my limbs by tonight." Winry was still too stunned to say anything, so she just sat there.

"Well, that's good, Brother. While you were still unconscious, I took the liberty of writing a letter to Central about your condition and about everything that happened. I mentioned that they should watch out for Scar, too, and also what he did to you. I haven't sent it yet because I wanted to see what you thought about it and see if you wanted to add anything. Here, let me go get it," Al offered as he left the room.

Ed couldn't look at Winry. He was too afraid of what she would say or do if she didn't feel the same way about him as he did her. What would he do if Al was wrong about how he said she felt? He just stared at the floor so that he wouldn't be able to see her facial expression.

Winry decided to move a little away from Ed because he looked embarrassed. She saw that he was determined to not look her in the eye. He probably thought she didn't like what he did and that she wouldn't accept it, but she decided to prove to him that she felt the same about him. Being careful of his right arm port, she gently moved closer to him and embraced him lovingly. She felt him tense up a little, but a moment later he welcomed it. She could now tell that he understood she loved him back.

They broke apart right before Al walked back in with the letter in his hand. "Here you go, Brother," Al said, without knowing what happened while he was gone, as he gave the letter to Ed. Ed looked it over and nodded his approval. "Well, I'll go mail this now. You better rest up for later, Brother," he said as he left once more.

Ed felt he couldn't stall telling Winry how much he loved her anymore. He turned to face her and saw that she was looking expectantly at him. He took a deep breath and found that his mouth was lacking in moisture. He began to speak in a croaky voice. "Winry, I'm not really good with words." He took a moment to clear his throat. "Well, I guess I….what I'm trying to say is….I…uh….I love you." He felt a blush creeping to his face and found it hard to look her in the eyes at this point.

Winry just smiled and said, "I love you, too." Ed looked up at this and had a relieved smile on his face. "I think I felt this way about you ever since you and Al first set out on your journey to fix things with that stone you always talk about. My feelings hit me full force when I thought you were going to die. When Al knocked on the door that night and Grandma opened it, I took one look at you and I was afraid you wouldn't make it. I was so happy when you woke up." Tears that she had tried to hold back since Ed arrived suddenly burst like a dam from her eyes. Ed pulled her to him and gave her a comforting one-arm hug as she let it all out. When she was able to control herself, she pulled away reluctantly from the warm embrace.

"Winry, I'm really sorry for making you worry like that. It tears me up inside when I am the cause of your sadness. The whole time I was like that, I could somehow feel your presence close to me. I felt Al, too, but you surfaced in my mind a little more than him. I fought as hard as I could to get back to you. It was like I was in a dream that I couldn't wake up from, but then I thought about you and Al. I found myself opening my eyes to the sight of your beautiful face looking down at me with worry clearly written on your face. I never want to worry you like that again. I promise that as soon as I find a way to get Al's body back, I will come back to you. I love you, Winry Rockbell, and no matter how long it takes, we will be together. I'll make sure of it." Ed said all of this from the very bottom of his heart. He say that his words had driven Winry to what he hoped were happy tears and not sad ones. He gave her another kiss and wiped away the drops forming along her eyes.

"I think you should get some sleep now, Ed. You have to be plenty rested for later. If you are sick of lying on this couch, I can help you to the bedroom you and Al stay in," Winry offered.

Ed nodded and allowed her to help him balance on one foot. He started to sway a little from the sudden dizzy spell that hit him, but Winry allowed him to hold on to her for support until it passed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she held on to his waist. Ed didn't find this one bit embarrassing considering he was lacking in clothes except for his boxers. Winry felt indifferent about it like it was normal. They felt comfortable about each other now that they knew the other loved them.

Once Ed was able to move without collapsing from dizziness, they made the slow process to the brothers' room. It was a little awkward due to Ed having to hop on one foot, but they managed it. By the time Ed collapsed heavily onto his bed, he and Winry were sweating and exhausted. He thought to himself that Al would be the one carrying him next time. She was thinking the same thing. He fell asleep before his head hit the pillow and, before Winry left the room, she pulled the cover over him so he would have something over him as he slept. She heard his snores before she shut the door behind her.

Later that evening, Al went to their bedroom to get Ed. He had heard from Winry about how hard it was to get Ed from place to place and she thought he should take care of it until he was able to walk on his own. He found himself in front of Ed now, watching as he looked peaceful as he slept. It was a pity to wake him from his nice slumber, but it had to be done.

"Time to wake up, Ed." All gently shook his brother, but this proved to be fruitless. He got a small reaction in the form of Ed mumbling and turning his head away from him. "Alright then, Ed. You leave me no choice but to tell Winry that you had finally started to drink milk when you realized it was the only chance you had at finally being tall." Ed only mumbled some more, something about damn milk, and placed his hand on his exposed stomach; the cover had come off while he slept. Al was going to give up, but then an idea came to him. He leaned in toward Ed's ear and whispered, "Hey, Ed. The Colonel is dancing around wearing a fluffy pink tutu."

Ed immediately shot up and looked around hastily. "Where? Where is he? I want to see!" He then noticed that Al was next to him laughing his head off. (so to speak) He glared at him before realizing that Al was only trying to wake him up for the event he had been dreading since the other day. He threw on a nearby shirt, with Al's help, and allowed himself to be lifted into Al's arms and away they went to the surgery room. Winry and Pinako were waiting patiently for them as they entered.

Al placed Ed down into a chair as Winry brought over the mechanical limbs. She and Pinako set to work placing them where they would go. Ed was calming himself down with slow breathing; it was better to be calm when reattaching limbs.

As soon as everything was set, Winry asked with concern and love, "Are you ready, Ed?" Ed just shook his head in an affirmative way.

"Alright then. On the count of three. One." Pinako started.

"Two," Winry continued. Ed closed his eyes and mentally prepared for it.

Together they said, "Three!" the switches were turned on and Ed struggled to keep from yelling out. He clenched his teeth and grunted from the pain. Winry pulled his head toward her and started running her hands through his unbraided hear. No one in the room seemed surprised by this gesture; they had guessed what was going on between the two.

Ed found the feeling of fingers moving through his silky strands very comforting. His pain died down to a manageable level and he was ready to go back to sleep. Getting automail attached takes a lot out of a person.

Al picked Ed up for the final time and walked out of the room to put him back to bed. Winry followed them out. She watched as Al placed Ed in his bed. When Al left, she slipped in and sat down next to Ed.

Ed noticed a shift in the bed and saw that Winry was there. He sat up and pulled her to him. She wrapped her arms around his middle and he gently brought her down with him. They lay like that until Ed couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. She noticed he was drifting off to sleep and she pulled the cover over the both of them. She followed his lead and soon she too was asleep. Ed had been through a lot these last two weeks, but now he was well again and he can now enjoy the rest of the time until he has to depart back to Central here with the woman he loves.

The next morning, the sun's gleaming rays woke Edward form his pleasant sleep. He blinked his eyes open, throwing his human arm in front of them and looked around. Before he could sit up, he felt a weight shift next to him. Looking down, the image of Winry's peaceful and angelic face made its way to Ed's eyes. He wished he could forever stay like this with her, just watching her sleep.

However, reality clicked in his mind and Ed knew he had to get up. So as to not wake the precious girl next to him, Ed moved as slow and gently as possible out of bed. Once he was finally upright, he stretched his arms up and over his head. His right shoulder felt a little stiff, but after his stretching exercises it felt just fine.

Looking around the room, he realized just how much he had grown. He didn't have the chance the other day to notice how tall he had gotten because his mind wasn't aware of his surroundings, only being focused on his aching stumps after his automail was reattached. He walked over to the full-length mirror hanging on the wall opposite the bed and took the opportunity to fully examine how he looked. His hair was tangled and unkempt from the lack of showers over the past few weeks, having no luck in finding somewhere to clean himself while he and Al were traveling. He slowly lifted up his shirt to view the scars forming over his once mark-free front torso, touching each one as his fingers ran over them.

Pulling his shirt back down, he gave his arm pit a quick sniff. Making a screwed up and disgusted face, he made the wise decision to take a quick shower before Winry had a chance to wake up. 'How could she stand my stink and sleep near me?' he thought as he grabbed a nearby change of clothes and walked into the hall on the way to the bathroom.

He reached his destination and started the hot water on the shower. As he was prepared for his long awaited cleansing, his mind went back to his run in with Scar. 'No, I don't want to think about that bastard.' Ed thought savagely as he stepped into the hot water.

Winry turned over on the bed and opened her eyes to a sun-filled room. She slowly sat up and stretched her arms behind her with a rather loud crack. 'Ah, that felt good,' she thought as she looked behind her to see if Ed was still asleep. She saw an empty spot where he should have been and started to panic. Getting out of bed, she made her way to the door and stepped into the hall. Upon hearing the shower going, she calmed down, knowing exactly where he was.

An evil idea came to Winry and she quietly made her way over to the bathroom. She opened the unlocked door and heard Ed whistling quietly as he cleaned himself. Barely keeping in her laughter, and having to place a hand over her own mouth to keep from giving away her presence, she snuck her way over to the shower curtain and started whistling along with Ed, getting steadily louder with each passing second.

Ed had no clue what was happening on the other side of the shower curtain and continued with his whistled tune. He stopped whistling for a split second to grab the shampoo. While he was lathering up his hair, he froze and pulled back the curtain enough to stick his head through. There he saw Winry holding her stomach from laughing so hard at his facial expression. He gave out a shout and made sure she couldn't see anything through the rather thin shower curtain. "What the hell do you think you're doing in here! You almost gave me a freaking heart attack!"

Winry just burst out with more laughter as she practically ran from the bathroom. She knew he would be mad, but it was still so funny to see him freak out like that.

Later when Edward had a chance to calm down and Winry had apologized for her prank, Ed was sitting alone in his room contemplating his time here at the Rockbells. He couldn't believe that Winry finally knew his feelings for her and he knew how she had felt about him. He had longed to tell her for the longest time, but he didn't know how she would react. Now that everything was out in the open, they could now spend well-deserved quality time together.

Just as Ed thought this, a terrible idea came to him. What if Scar came back to finish what he started? Would everyone be in danger just because of him? He couldn't let this happen, not now that he had his newly found love. He had to do something about this, to keep the ones he loved from getting hurt because of the bastard.

Al walked into his brother's room and found that he wasn't there. He searched all over, asking Winry and Pinako if they knew where he went. They didn't know. Al finally decided to look in Winry's room, the last place in the house he had not yet checked. He saw no one there, but something on the bedside table caught his eye. He walked over, slowly getting a better glance at what looked like a note. Al picked it up, read threw it quickly, dropped it to the floor and ran back out of the room.

**Winry,**

**I'm sorry, but I can no longer place you in danger. Scar might be on his way to finish me off and I can't risk you getting hurt. Tell the others that I've left. Al will probably want to come find and stop me. Tell him not to. Don't try to find me. I'll come back as soon as I make sure Scar can never come between us.**

**Love,**

**Edward**


End file.
